The Newborn

part two / chapter two.

A few days later, I let myself into the Cullen house and heard the sounds of a few of them stirring upstairs at the sound of my arrival. Edward appeared at the bottom of the stairs a few seconds later. I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and then moved towards the living room, calling out to Esme, Carlisle, Alice and Emmett as Edward wandered in behind me.

"Hey, is Jake here?" I already knew that he was, I could smell him from halfway down the driveway.

"Yeah, I'm here." The man himself wandered out of the kitchen, tucking into a bowl of cereal. "What's up?"

"Billy's looking for you." I told him with a sigh, flopping down on the couch beside Edward and putting my feet up on the coffee table. Edward wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pressed a kiss to my temple as Esme bustled past and swiped at my legs, forcing me to move them off the table and kick my shoes off. Home sweet home.

"How do you know?" Jake asked accusatorially through a mouthful of food.

"He called Charlie again."

"Again?" Carlisle echoed me, turning to Jake with a concerned look on his kind face. "Come on Jake, what's going on at home?"

Jacob shrugged and put his bowl down on the table in front of him. "He doesn't get it. He thinks we're natural enemies, which I guess we technically are but-... He thinks that I should be staying with Sam and his pack of obedient dogs but I won't do it."

"And why should you have to?" Emmett asked, pulling Rosalie, who had since appeared to greet me, gently down into his lap and wrapping his arms around her waist. "Your grandfather was a Chief, right? Just start your own pack." I stifled a laugh, doubting Jake would see the funny side, at how simple Emmett made everything sound.

"Yeah but the way my dad sees it is that Sam is older than me and is a more positive force in the community or something." Jake folded himself up on the carpet, placing his bowl on Esme's coffee table. "He thinks I need to be 'guided'. Mostly, he just wants me to stay away from you guys and that's not going to happen. I might be young but I'm old enough to make those kinds of decisions for myself. We learned how to choose good friends in kindergarten. Besides, pretty sure you need more than one person to make a pack."

"If I could turn into an animal, I'd be right there with you buddy!" Emmett promised sincerely, making Jake grin.

"You can't disobey your father forever, Jacob." Esme said quietly. An involuntary whimper escaped my lips as I contemplated Jake doing as Billy asked and staying away from us; from me. "But of course you're always welcome to stay here." She added quickly, not wanting him to feel like she was kicking him out.

"He'll calm down soon."Jake shrugged, smiling appreciably at Esme. Over the past few months, she'd become as much of a stand-in for his mother as much as she had for mine. "He's still trying to wrap his head around the whole wolf thing and I don't think he ever really recovered from finding out that Charlie's angelic daughter was a vampire."

"Yeah that's my bad." I conceded, making Emmett roar with laughter from across the room.

A quiet knock sounded at the door and, recognising the rhythm of the sound, I raced to open it. Angela Weber beamed at me through the glass and stepped inside. The Cullens and Jake all chorused a cheerful hello when she walked into the living room. I sighed happily, resuming my seat curled up around Edward. Aside from my parents, everyone I loved was in one room. I was blissfully happy.

Angela sighed dramatically and flopped down on the armchair opposite the couch I was sitting on, her feet draped delicately over the arm. She was still wearing her work uniform, I assumed she had come straight from the store.